The Shyok River is a tributary of the Indus River that flows through northern

Ladakh Ladakh () is a region administered by India as a union territory which constitutes a part of the larger Kashmir region and has been the subject of dispute between India, Pakistan, and China since 1947. (subscription required) Quote: "Jammu ...

and enters

Gilgit–Baltistan Gilgit-Baltistan (; ), formerly known as the Northern Areas, is a region administered by Pakistan as an administrative territory, and constituting the northern portion of the larger Kashmir region which has been the subject of a dispute bet ...

, spanning some . The Shyok River originates at the

Rimo Glacier __NOTOC__ The Rimo Muztagh is one of the most remote subranges of the Karakoram range. The southern part of Rimo Muztagh is in the Ladakh portion of far northwestern India, also claimed by Pakistan. The northern half, including the Rimo massi ...

, one of the tongues of

Siachen Glacier The Siachen Glacier is a glacier located in the eastern Karakoram range in the Himalayas at about , just northeast of the point NJ9842 where the Line of Control between India and Pakistan ends. At long, it is the longest glacier in the Kar ...

. Its alignment is very unusual, originating from the Rimo glacier, it flows in a southeasterly direction and, joining the Pangong range, it takes a northwestern turn, flowing parallel to its previous path. Shyok Valley widens at the confluence with the

Nubra River The Nubra River is a river in the Nubra Valley of Ladakh in India. It is a tributary of the Shyok River (a part of the Indus River system) and originates from the Siachen Glacier, the second-longest non-polar glacier in the world. In earlier Ti ...

but suddenly turns into a narrow gorge near Yagulung (), continuing through

Bogdang Bogdang (Bukdang, Beyoqdan, Biagdangdo, ) is a village in the Leh district of Ladakh, India. It is located in Nubra tehsil. Location Bogdang is located in the Shyok River valley after it narrows near Yagulung, the portion sometimes called th ...

Turtuk Turtuk ཏུར་ཏུཀ་ is a village and the headquarters of an eponymous community development block in the Indian union territory of Ladakh. It is a small village sandwiched between Karakorum Range and Himalayas. and one of the north ...

and

Tyakshi Takshi, also known as Tyakshi or Taqsi, is a remote village in Nubra valley,located on the banks of the Shayok River in the Leh district of UT Ladakh, India. It lies in the historical Chorbat Valley of the Baltistan region, which was divided bet ...

before crossing into Baltistan. The valley again widens near its Saltoro River junction at

Ghursay Ghursay. གྷིར་སེ། Urdu غورسے is a village in district Ghanche, Pakistan Pakistan ( ur, ), officially the Islamic Republic of Pakistan ( ur, , label=none), is a country in South Asia. It is the world's List of ...

. The river joins the Indus at Keris, east of the town of

Skardu , nickname = , motto = , image_skyline = , map_caption = , pushpin_map = Gilgit Baltistan#Pakistan , pushpin_label_position ...

. The Nubra River, originating from the Siachen glacier, also behaves like the Shyok. Before Diskit, the southeasterly flowing river Nubra takes a northwest turn on meeting the river Shyok. The similarity in the courses of these two important rivers probably indicates a series of paleolithic

fault line In geology, a fault is a planar fracture or discontinuity in a volume of rock across which there has been significant displacement as a result of rock-mass movements. Large faults within Earth's crust result from the action of plate tectonic ...

s trending northwest-southeast in delimiting the upper courses of the rivers.

Name

The name ''Shyok'' (or ''Shayog'') is derived from Tibetan ཤག་མ (''shag'') 'gravel' + གཡོག་ (''gyog'') 'to spread' and therefore means 'gravel speader', referring to the large quantities of gravel that the river deposits when it floods. The name is sometimes incorrectly glossed as 'river of death'.

Valley

The Shyok Valley is the valley of the Shyok River. It is near the

Nubra Valley Nubra, also called Dumra, is a historical region of Ladakh, India that is currently administered as a subdivision and a tehsil in the Leh district. Its inhabited areas form a tri-armed valley cut by the Nubra and Shyok rivers. Its Tibetan name ...

Khardung La Khardung La () or Khardung Pass is a mountain pass in the Leh district of the Indian union territory of Ladakh. The pass is on the Ladakh Range, north of Leh, and connects the Indus river valley and the Shyok river valley. It also forms the ...

on the Ladakh Range lies north of Leh and is the gateway to the

Shyok The Shyok River is a tributary of the Indus River that flows through northern Ladakh and enters Gilgit–Baltistan, spanning some . The Shyok River originates at the Rimo Glacier, one of the tongues of Siachen Glacier. Its alignment is very ...

and

Nubra Nubra, also called Dumra, is a historical region of Ladakh, India that is currently administered as a subdivision and a tehsil in the Leh district. Its inhabited areas form a tri-armed valley cut by the Nubra and Shyok rivers. Its Tibetan name ...

valleys. The

lies partway up the latter valley.

Tributaries

The

Chang Chen Mo River Chang Chenmo River or Changchenmo River is a tributary of the Shyok River, part of the Indus River system. It is at the southern edge of the disputed Aksai Chin region and north of the Pangong Lake basin. The source of Chang Chenmo is near the ...

is formed in the vicinity of Pamzal in Changchinmo plains of Ladakh and flows westward. It ends when it empties into the Shyok River. The

Galwan River The Galwan River flows from the disputed Aksai Chin area administered by China to the Union Territory of Ladakh, India. It originates near the caravan campsite Samzungling on the eastern side of the Karakoram range and flows west to join the Sh ...

is in the southern part of

Aksai Chin Aksai Chin is a region administered by China as part of Hotan County, Hotan Prefecture, Xinjiang and Rutog County, Ngari Prefecture, Tibet. It is claimed by India to be a part of its Leh District, Ladakh Union Territory. It is a part of t ...

, Galwan originates in the area of Samzungling and flowing to the west joins the Shyok River. The

is a tributary of the Shyok River, which flows into the Indus River. It flows in the

region of

India India, officially the Republic of India (Hindi: ), is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by area, the second-most populous country, and the most populous democracy in the world. Bounded by the Indian Ocean on the so ...

. The

Saltoro River Saltoro River is a tributary river of Shyok River in the Siachen Region. Its main source is Bilafond Glacier Bilafond Glacier ( ur, بلا فوند گلیشیر) is located in Siachen region across Karakoram Range in Pakistan. It is a main ...

begins in the skirts of the

Saltoro Kangri Saltoro Kangri, formerly known as Peak 36, is the highest peak of the Saltoro Mountains subrange of Karakoram range, also known as the Saltoro Range, which is a part of the Karakoram. Saltoro Kangri is a name generally used for the twin peaks, S ...

peak ridge and flows to the southwest. Another branch starts from the western Siachen glaciers and flows to the west to join it at Dumsum village. North of the Ghursay Valley, it meets Mashburm Peak's

Hushe River The Hushe River is a tributary river to the Shyok River which itself is tributary to the Indus River. The main source of the Hushe River is the Gondogoro Glacier. Some streams also flow from other glaciers of the Hushe valley. The Hushe river jo ...

and empties into Shyok River just southwest.

Gallery

File:View of bridge over Shyok River, Khaplu.jpg, Shyok in

Khaplu Valley Khaplu (Urdu: ) and ( Balti: ཁཔ་ལུ།), also spelt Khapalu, is a city that serves as the administrative capital of the Ghanche District of Gilgit-Baltistan, in northern Pakistan. Lying east of the city of Skardu, it was the second-lar ...

File:Shiyok River.jpg, Kharfaq and Yugu File:Shoyok and Nubra Valley map.jpg, Road marker map

References

*Sharad Singh Negi: ''Himalayan Rivers, Lakes, and Glaciers''. Indus Publishing 1991, *H. N. Kaul: ''Rediscovery of Ladakh''. Indus Publishing 1998, , p. 30-31
restricted online version (Google Books)

Footnotes

External links

''Shyok River''
at the

Encyclopædia Britannica The (Latin for "British Encyclopædia") is a general knowledge English-language encyclopaedia. It is published by Encyclopædia Britannica, Inc.; the company has existed since the 18th century, although it has changed ownership various t ...

Shyok River
{dead link, date=May 2018 , bot=InternetArchiveBot , fix-attempted=yes
"Shyok Valley Project - An Experiment In Suof Jammu and Kashmir"
Tributaries of the Indus River Rivers of India International rivers of Asia Karakoram Rivers of Ladakh Rivers of Gilgit-Baltistan